No.025 - The second life of Nakamura Bao
Tuesday Legends
Tell the story of the extraordinary life of seekers
Tuesday
One in Japan, one in China
He spent his whole life living out others
A look that cannot be surpassed in two lifetimes
60 years old, for many people, may mean stability, and enjoying the final happiness of life. But for Tamotsu Nakamura, his second life has only just begun.
01
Encounter southwest
In April 1991, by chance, he came to Lijiang, Yunnan Province, for a vacation. The spectacular Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in front of him evoked memories of his university life 40 years ago – when he traveled to South America as a photographer with an expedition organized by the school.
He found that he had always had an initial yearning for strange corners that had never been discovered, which made him secretly think, "I will come here to visit the mountains after I retire."
For his "grand plan" after retirement, he began to conduct some previous expeditions. He traveled to the Himalayas and siguniang mountain in Aba. During the trip, he was deeply attracted by the handsome mountains of western China, and during this visit, he met Zhang Jiyue, the head of the Sichuan Mountaineering Association. But what he did not expect was that this chance encounter was a fate that ran through the next 30 years.
At that time, it was not a simple matter to climb mountains in southwest China: the government and the military were strictly controlling these areas, and every trip had to pass through the Sichuan Provincial Foreign Affairs Office, the Provincial Public Security Department, the Military Region Headquarters, the Operations Department... and so on for departmental approval. Coupled with Nakamura's special status as a Japanese, not only will the government misunderstand him, but the people will not be very friendly to him, and sometimes even call him a "Japanese spy". But Nakamura never gets angry every time he hears these titles, and sometimes jokingly says, "It would be nice if I had such a great power."
But among all these unfriendly, Zhang Jiyue is an exception. He could see Nakamura's love for exploring the mountain, and he knew that Nakamura, like himself, simply loved the mountain. In addition, he also knew that this foreigner was willing to use his time, energy and financial resources to make a great contribution to the exploration of the peaks of southwest China.
In July 1991, Nakamura and Zhang Jiyue entered the south of Siguniang Mountain from Changpinggou and observed The Sister Peak up close. After that, from Liuku to Gongshan, from Mount Emei to Jinsha River, from Qi'er Mountain in Ganzi Prefecture, Sichuan to Northwest Yunnan, from Meili Snow Mountain to Tiger Leaping Gorge....
Beautiful Sister Peak
It took them three years to explore most of the famous sights and peaks. Nakamura's ambitions are gradually not satisfied with this, and he hopes to explore the smaller corners of the more independent world himself. In 1994, he began a visit to the Gongga Mountains, exploring the western part of the Gongga Mountains and the Snow Mountain Ranges in which it is located, which until now have not been marked on public maps.
One day many years ago, at a second-hand bookstore in Gifu Prefecture, Japan, Nakamura stumbled upon a map of the resources of the western peaks of China that had been mapped by the Soviet Union and China, which was arguably the most accurate map of China at that time. He bought all of them in one go, more than 200 pictures, and spent less than 20,000 yen (about 2,200 yuan at the time). These maps, which seemed inconspicuous to everyone, were as precious as treasures in his heart.
His encounter with the Chinese mountain seems to be accidental, but in fact, the heavens have made the most ingenious arrangement - let the people who love the mountain most explore this most mysterious and beautiful place.
02
Start "Second Life."
In 1996, he finally took a back seat from his previous glamorous life and was free to choose the life he wanted – to be with the mountains. He refused to accept any sponsorship and relied solely on his own pension, in order to give himself an unfettered time.
Nakamura's strength comes from his accumulation in "First Life": for the first 40 years, he had been working for the Japanese ihi Group. Retired as a senior official, he received a monthly pension of about 190,000 yuan, which was enough to support all the needs of his expeditions in China.
Nakamura signed autographs for the children after the school lecture
Every time he travels, he will carefully use his camera and paper and pencil to shoot, record and summarize in detail. Soon, his first book, East of the Himalayas, was published in Japan. While visiting those unknown territories, he also investigates the traditions and cultures of ethnic minorities, which makes his work more comprehensive and reflects the wonderful fusion of man and nature in southwest China.
Nakamura Hiroshi poses with locals in Western Sichuan
In 2000, Nakamura's second book, Deeply Eroded Canyon Areas, introduced the results of his expeditions to western China.
In 2001, he founded the English-language magazine Japan Mountain Shimbun, which is mainly used to publish news about asian climbing circles;
In 2003, he was awarded the 6th Chichibu-miya Memorial Mountain Award by the Japan Mountain Society;
In 2005, Nakamura's third book, The Alps of Tibet, was published at the same time as the international mountain alliance uiaa.
……
He took the life that began at the age of 60, just as well as the sound and color.
It is still being published to this day
Japan Mountain Shimbun magazine
We are usually humanistic, and the vast majority of people have reached the age of Nakamura Bao, and they may not be able to maintain a strong physical fitness like Nakamura Bao. But in fact, fading the aura of an explorer, he is just an ordinary old man. Every time he travels, he will never take a step further where he can take a car, and even if he can't take a car, he will try to choose to ride a horse. People see him faltering in the mountains and think he is no different from other old people. For him, being able to go to the secret realm already means the realization of his dreams.
In 2016, his most influential book, The Alps of Tibet East of the Himalayas and Their Distant Places: An Atlas of Mountains, was released simultaneously around the world, bringing together the best of his more than 40 visits to southwest China over the past 20 years. Because of its detailed climbing introduction and real environmental records, it caused a great sensation in the climbing world, and also became the "climbing treasure book" of all later mountaineers.
"I've had a lot of careers, mountaineers, photographers, geographers, mountain writers. Someone asked me which role I identify with more. I still prefer to think of me as an explorer."
In the final stages of his life, he devoted himself to what he loved most, just as seekers fearlessly explored nature. Nakamura's spirit tells people all the time: At any time, please do not give up the flame in your heart.
-end-
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